Hi,

So first of all, one has to look at human beings. It’s pointless designing a system if human beings won’t use it or, even worse, if they abuse it. The profit with all business-for-profit is that it is a) unethical in that it is a system of unequal exchange and b) the kind of people who go into business are generally driven by greed. This will account for the fact that while 1% of the general population are psychopaths, 20% of CEOs are.

We have been led to believe that there are only two options for business – profit or loss. Actually, there is a third – sustainable, and it is the sustainable model that will get us through this.

In a sustainable business practice, the goods are priced at a figure which will allow the business to break-even. I’m not sure what you know about accounting, but obviously one would consider salaries, future investment and capital expenses, etc. Running a sustainable business does not mean that the CEO does not earn more than worker. It simply means that, at the end of the year, he doesn’t take a profit as well. And because he is not motivated by profit (because there is none), prices can remain much lower and workers can be better reimbursed.

Fundamental to any change is to stop the motivation to earn money at any costs. To do that, we need to provide an infrastructure or a system to do that. One of the best ways to do that is to make it acceptable to run a break-even business.

That would be an innovative practice.

You will forgive me for being cynical about business making a difference when it is profitable. I am born and bred in Africa. I have lived and worked in many countries, and without exception, any business that is driven by profit screws everybody else. There is no way to solve humanity’s problems without removing the profit motive.

Inequality is the direct result of paying workers less than their work is worth and pricing goods at more than they are worth. That is how profit is arrived at (one of my many courses in my life was accountancy – also, I grew up in business).

I’ve also studied geology at college, plus I’ve been a climate change believer since 1970 when I read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. So I’ve looked at this issue long and hard for a very, very long time.

Business is for the profit of private individuals. Business has become so powerful that it has bought government. Government now kowtows to business and not citizens. The legislation that is passed benefits business.

Why do you even thing that business must solve things? Business has to but out. It can’t solve anything. The steps that need to be taken are massive if we are to prevent extinction of the human species. The idea that we will survive this because we are such a clever species is pure hubris and arrogance.

Here’s what needs to be done – yesterday.

1. Government needs to invest in massive public transport that reaches everywhere and is fast, cheap, and efficient. That way we can remove the personal ownership of cars from the road. This starts with government – not with business.

2. Government needs to start shutting down the worst offenders contributing to climate change. That would include stopping the global business model. Imports and exports need to be stopped. For millennia, communities were able to weave their own cloth and make their own clothing, and now we have to import it from China. I understand that there are rare exceptions, but it’s not the rare exceptions that are driving the destruction of earth, land and sea. It’s the greed to make greater and greater profits. Denim has killed entire cities and rivers in China. What for? American imports 350 million pairs of denim every year (the total produced internationally is 700 million). WTF do 320 million Americans do with 350 million pairs of denim every year? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/20/global-shipping-is-a-big-emitter-the-industry-must-commit-to-drastic-action-before-it-is-too-late

3. The third thing that needs to be done, and, again, it is government that needs to do this, is that it needs to implement UBI. We are going to need this because in order for the planet to survive, we need to stop the over-production, and the production that is causing pollution. Many people will be out of work. The government can say things like “We will pay you a living wage, but you must work 20 hours per week in helping to clean up the planet. We will allocate you the tasks.” It’s bs that this cannot be done. Of course, it cannot be done. As long as we are producing enough to feed everybody, things will be fine. The problem is never shortage of money – it is shortage of goods, and in a time when we can mass produce, this is not the problem.

4. We need to stop advertising. It is brainwashing people. I can explain to you how it affects the human brain, but you can also read through many of my articles to explain how Freud’s nephew is the father of propaganda and public relations. People simply wouldn’t buy as much as they do without advertising. That is why business invests so much in it.

So what can you do? How about?

1. A site that lists all the products in the world as manufacturers make them. The price of them, where they are made, what materials they are made of, etc. People can then search that site for what they need. They can compare prices, what the environmental cost is in purchasing them. No advertising allowed. Just a description of products that allows people to source what they need as close as home as possible. You can use symbols that equate to language so that people with different languages can understand whether or not, or to what degree, a product is earth friendly.

2. Many people today are single. I struggle to find kitchen products that are designed for single people – small pots, small appliances (I don’t need a large stove), small pressure cooker, small fryers, etc. So how about starting a website for single people to buy products that are sized for them. I also don’t want large products because they take up space, and that means I need to have a bigger kitchen/apartment than I want. Why must I buy four or six sets of cutlery when I only need two?

3. Set up a site for those people who are prepared to work together as intentional communities in their own particular neighbourhoods – people who will invest in things like red-light vertical farming for their particular community. This would mean that people don’t have to leave their neighbourhood to shop for food. It would also mean that food doesn’t have to be transported long distance to town. Alternatively, invest in something that enables people to grow food on their balcony, kitchen or garden that will enable them to stop shopping so much.

You are approaching this from the point of view that nothing will be done if there isn’t something in it for the individual – profit. I am approaching this from the POV that people will work together for the greater good if they are given the leadership and the ideas.

I’m curious to see how you respond to this. 😊